Discectomy - After the Operation

[Me Fornever]

Hi all,


I had my operation on my L5 disc 3 days ago. I have nothing but good things to say about the whole process!




We are all really glad for you Jack, I'm glad they caught you early! Can you tell us more detail please, where it was carried, by who and so on, I'm sure there will be other members 'local to you' who would benefit greatly.

Best wishes and good health

SPINELF

 

[Bees Knees]

Well im 19 days away from seeing the surgeon.

Im able to stand straight but I still have pain in my buttock and leg and a tightness around my left ankle. The muscle spasms are still there and ive been put on Epilim to help control them. Im still taking Diclofenac and Tramadol also.

Im feeling quite worried that the surgeon might offer me the epidural pain block. Ive been through hell these past 3 years and this last 14 weeks my life has been put on hold and want an end to the problem and not a pain relief as this wont cure the problem.

Ive always looked on the bad side of things and my doctor and my fiancee have both said to me that its gone past the epidural stage. I really hope so as im feeling pretty low and like I said I need an end to this pain and problems

 

[Pompal 09.]

It's good to hear from you again deboy, I'm sorry you are feeling low, and are not any better!

Tell me, are the leg and ankle pains down the front of your leg or the back?

I am sorry to see that you are on these strong drugs deboy, but don't worry if you are offered an epidural or nerve root block, because I found them great, and they can confirm the location of your main pain source. I had 4, 2 of them where in the wrong place, which did not work, and 2 in the correct spot, which completely knocked out the pain for six weeks.! And I had reduced pain levels for another 5 more weeks .

If you do have this and it 'does not' work, it will be a fair indicator to the Surgeon that he needs to look somewhere else, so be sure to tell him!

Keep your chin up butty, it won't be much longer!

Best wishes for a good consultation.


SPINELF

 

[johndier]

The pain is in my left buttock, left hip area and down the back of my left thigh. The foot pain is around the back of my ankle from one side of the ankle bone to the other running across the achilles

Thank you for the kind words SPINELF

I just want an end to the pain and to be able to get on with life again. All I ever do is moan and complain and its driving my fiancée around the bend as well as making me feel very down.

I'll report back one ive seen the consultant

 

[cueqeumnifqihwegq]

I am so sorry to hear about your increasing pain deboy does your partner read this forum? You may not want her too becasue it might be your own retreat but it might help her understand the depth of the trouble and pain that 'my back hurts' can really mean?

My husband did not understand until he came with me on a consultation then he changed that second and now understands much more and is very helpful.

 

[Searcher 5.0]

My other half has had decompression surgery on both shoulders so she can relate to the pain. She doesnt come on her either, its just me.

Im a moody bugger at the best of times, this has just made me worse.

 

[Cornflakes]

Try and keep as active and outgoing with your partner as you can, it will help your
depression and you partners understanding. Take care of yourself until the
consultation to, then come straight back, we'll be here for you deboy!

Best wishes

SPINELF

 

[Rubix]

Hi there all,

I am new to this forum and I believe that this website is one of the better websites for obtaining a wide range of experiences shared by others. Most of us I imagine are very passionate about the subject of back and spinal issues, and it is most comforting to know that there are others out there who can truly appreciate the incredible pain that sciatic nerve root compression can cause.

I am male, 32, and from the United Kingdom. I note that a lot of people posting here are from the United States. Our health care systems are very different but from the research i did prior to my surgery identical procedures both traditional (conventional) and more contemporary (MISS) are on offer here as well as in the United States.

I work in the legal profession over here and i can categorically tell you that the idea of any surgeon taking more 'care' in performing surgery as a result of more modern and competing methods of surgery is utter nonsense. In the UK as I am sure is the case in the United States review and progress in both conventional techniques and more minimally invasive techniques is constant and in the UK we have some very good leading spinal surgeons, who are also world respected authorities in spinal surgery and in developing new techniques.

One of the worst experiences that any of us go through before and after surgery is the issue of the risk of such surgery and the paranoia this can induce. The array of differing comments and advice online can exacerbate this paranoia particularly when they come from people who can only speak from their own personal experiences and not from PHDs and years of medical training. Comments slating the particular surgeons of some individuals that have posted on this site shows a complete lack of empathy and borders on cruelty, or dare I say it is somewhat sociopathic, although i won't pretend to be a expert on mental health issues or spinal health issues.

My own personal experience which put not so briefly (sorry) is as follows:

1. 2 herniated discs at L5 and L4.
2. Severe nerve compression at L5 S1.
3. 5 months of Co-Codomol and Sodium Doclofenac
4. 5 months of chiro and psysio as prescribed by my NHS GP.
5. Decision to have surgery privately.

What i have learnt from my experience is based on being in the UK and dealing with both the NHS and finally with private health care. If this account rings true with anyone viewing this post then i hope this assists you or at best provides some consolation that you have not suffered alone:

Issue 1.

I have had back problems for years and every time i have put my back out in the last 5 years the pain has increased in severity with the onset of sciatica also increasing in severity. This year though after putting my back out, as my back got better my leg got worse, and i couldn't shake my limp. I realised this time i needed intervention. The professional advice was to see a physiotherapist. I found a chap who was a physio and a chiropractor and was a member of all the usual professional bodies etc...4 sessions and despite my condition worsening and my telling this chap that i thought i had slipped a disc he kept me going back for more (paying him too of course). He even told me it could have been the hamtring in my calf. This did not ring true so i went back to see my GP.

Issue 2.

I told my GP that i had now had symptoms for 4 months, the symptoms were worsening and i was experiencing numbness now in my foot, I told her I was seeing the physio and it seemed to be causing more damage. My GP prescribed me Diclofenac and 8/500 Cocodomol (which is basically paracetomol). She also told me to continue with my Physio sessions and to call her in 14 days if matters had not improved. I was in her office for less than 5 minutes with no physical exam at all. Needless to say alarm bells were ringing I was starting to realise that my health was in the hands of people happy to prescribe treatment to me based upon guesses and not facts. 7 days later I contacted my GP again and started being more demanding.

Issue 3.
I told my GP that i was refusing to follow any advice from anybody until we could deal with facts. So, i asked for a scan, she offered an x-ray (these only show bones and not discs) I refused on the basis that i was now getting about 1 hour sleep in every 24hours due to the pain and i could not walk more than 5 metres. She then told me that there was a 6 week wait on the NHS for an MRI. At this point i had had 2 months off work and faced with another 6 weeks I felt this was unacceptable. She then told me that even after an MRI it would be 28 to 62 days to see a consultant to discuss the results. So all in all it would take a minimum of 3 months just to see a consultant. I was then told that the waiting time for discectomy or associated surgery was a further 16 weeks, and even then the date is always only provisional! A minimum of 7 months before treatment...this was unacceptable given that i had researched my condition and I knew that if my foot and leg was going numb then there was a risk of permanent nerve damage, such risk increasing with every day left unresolved. I decided to get the hell out f the NHS farce and pay for an MRI privately.

Issue 4.
The MRI was the best £300 I had spent at that point in my life. It showed exactly what i had expected; a severely herniated disc and nerve compression at L5 S1. I took the results to my GP and I told her to refer me to which ever consultant can see me quickest (so i dipped back into the NHS again thinking i had saved myself 6 weeks at least). She did so, and when i made the call to the clinic in question to find out who i was seeing i discovered i was due to see a physiotherapist who would assess my need for surgery, apparently if it was surgery i required then I would be sent for an MRI!!!!!! again!!!!! alarm bells were ringing and all the time my pain was worsening! I decided to get the hell out of the NHS regime again!!!! utter rubbish!

Issue 5.
I began researching surgeons in the UK and decided to contact the surgeon of my choice through his private office. The gentleman i chose was rated in the top ten surgeons for spinal operations, he is a published authority on modern and contemporary practices and is well respected, even my the Dailymail newspaper!. If anyone would like to know who the surgeon is then please email me directly as i refuse to have anybody on this board make an unqualified assessment of his credentials. Anyway, he saw me within 2 days notice and during consultation, physical assessment and assessment of the MRI he said he was shocked at the lack of service, advice and professionalism i had been met with and that judging by my symptoms and the MRI i required surgery urgently. He had operated within 48 hours because i had gone through his office directly he could choose which hospital he performed the operation in - i.e. which ever hospital had the slot quickest.

Issue 6.
I had full open surgery, my incision was no more than 4 cm and i had a discectomy and decompression due to stenosis L5-L4. Surgery was a breeze, i hate needles but my leg hurt so much i was helping them find the vein to get the canula in! I woke up and the pain had gone. Now bare this in mind - I had full open surgery and 2 hours after my operation I was walking to the toilet and down the hall at the hospital. The initial pain of the surgery was literally nothing compared to the sciatic pain. I was overjoyed.

Issue 7.
I spent 3 nights in hospital after an operation that lasted apr an hour. I could have gone home the next day if i'm honest but my surgeon, who i trust utterly, asked me to.

Issue 8.
After the numbness and sciatica had gone straight away and all sensation back in my foot and toes 4 days later I developed some aches and twinges in my sciatic nerve . My surgeon had told me to expect this and so I have no surprises and no worries. The first 7 days the incision was sore but nothing compared to the pain post surgery. 2 weeks in and my dissolvable stitches were clipped at each end and steri strips removed.

Issue 9.
I am 2 weeks and 6 days post op now. I am seeing my surgeon for the first time since the operation in the morning. I will be getting my moneys worth and i will be asking as many questions as i can.

I have learnt to listen to my body in the absence of clear and qualified facts about my condition and i know i have to be patient and careful about the condition i now keep my body in and be intelligent about my rate of recovery and what my capabilities are short term and long term. This full open surgery was the best £7600.00 i have ever spent in my life and i would do it again. Pursuing alternative therapies did not work for me, in fact they destroyed 2011 for me. Disc herniation and nerve compression can cause permanent damage, pain, impotence and incontinence. I was given a clear scenario by my surgeon - Not having the surgery the chances of such permanent damage is higher than if you have the surgery, and if you have the surgery then there is a 90% success rate.

If I could give one bit of advice it would be not to embark upon ANY treatment until you have an MRI to assess your actual condition. Secondly i read about alot of people who have undergone years of sciatic pain - what a risk you are running! get advice from a surgeon MISS or CONVENTIONAL. Manage your own health do not let NHS protocol dictate your rate of recovery based upon their procedural shortcomings.

If you have had the surgery and you still suffer then i am truly sorry and wish you all the best. I would however ask anyone who still suffers from the sciatic pain post surgery how long they had to wait for the surgery and whether or not they feel the wait caused the permanent nerve damage.

Finally i wish everyone well that is suffering or who has suffered from this ailment- it is truly physically and mentally exhausting, not to mention the pressures on friends and family it also causes.

All the best.

 

[Lateefah]

Your condition, suffering, delays and tribulations are all well known and understood by most of us on this site, and we can easily empathise with you. Look back on some older posts, you will see your experiences are well shared.

We have all similar ‘yet varied’ experiences, and that is what makes the HP forum, the best back pain forum on the web. I’m glad you like it.

I am very glad you recovering well, from what you have clearly described as, an improved open back procedure. The 4cm length is ‘indeed’ a great improvement on standard UK 6in for open, or a 3 inch for micro techniques.

Thank you for stating your support for our long, well stated and firmly held belief, that patients ‘must’ take charge of their own pre-op research and absolutely ‘must not’ simply accept a Surgeons unsupported words as Gospel, if they are to make a ‘truly’ informed choice.

I am not a Legal Eagle Budskinson, I am just a working class boy, a ‘logistics professional’ without a ‘PhD’, TCP or TNT, but I am fairly sure that the ‘sociopathic’ and ‘paranoia’ quips were aimed at me!
As you failed to clarify, I will assume they were!

I think your post is simply another case of ‘let’s shoot the messengers’. You make bold statements, yet offer no evidence, no stats, no peer reviewed papers, no links! Honestly, I expected far more from a ‘legal professional’ not the same old vitriolic rubbish!

I’m sure that you see yourself as ‘Atticus finch’, but even he would expect that as an important part of legal process, you should offer factual evidence to back up your words, instead of making personal and generalist insults to mask a lack of proof.

You are correct Budskinson, MISS and Standard spinal surgery ‘are both available’ in the UK, but to clarify to our American Cousins, only privately, and only to those who can afford it, like Bankers, Doctors and umm oh, ah yes Solicitors!

The fact is, that nearly all MISS spinal procedures are ‘not freely available’ at the ‘point of need’. That is to say, on the tax payer funded NHS, or (as you say) NHS regime!! For the rest of us, the great unwashed, we must save hard and sacrifice our savings, or go without MISS.

However, some of these same NHS Orthopaedic and Neuro Surgeons, can and do, offer various experimental MISS procedures in their private practices, procedures such as ‘IDET’
IPG319 Percutaneous intradiscal electrothermal therapy for low back pain: guidance
or the ‘Wallis Stabilisation technique’ which had no NICE listing, and of course the 'altered and improved' open back procedures I mentioned previously, and that you clearly benefited from.

Bare in mind, that a lot of these treatments are considered by NICE to be far more ‘risky’ than (ELF) but these same Doctors will brief against (ELF) whilst performing the riskier procedures themselves!! Hypocrisy!!

I find your ‘categorically unsupported opinion’ that the UK has a dynamic MISS sector, which does not respond to market or peer pressure, delusional!

It’s no wonder you don’t want the likes of me picking over your scant and baseless information. 90% SUCCESSFUL? Where did you get that from. I have been told similar figures over the last 7 years by 3 Spinal Surgeons, but when I ask for the trial information that proves this claim, they have got nothing to offer! As our American friends would say: WHERES THE BEEF?

Budskinson, How having a legal background gives you the right to demand that ‘we members’ should believe you ‘unquestioningly’ about ‘back pain matters’ without any facts and figures, is frankly quite bizarre and insulting!

If I ‘PM’ you Budskinson, Will you give ‘me’ the name of your Surgeon if I ask for it? No? Never mind then!!

(((quote))) If anyone would like to know who the surgeon is then please email me directly as i refuse to have anybody on this board make an unqualified assessment of his credentials.)))

On this point, let me put it to you: ah,ah, see what I did there?
if you went to court, and said to the judge, I have ‘devastating evidence’ which will prove ‘beyond any doubt’ that my case is right and just! However, the defence Solicitor & Barrister and the 12 jury members 'will not be allowed' to see it when together, nor will it be viewed in an open court!
What do you think the judge would say Budskinson?

We are chronically ill Budskinson, Not terminally STUPID!!!

With regards to my post with Amybt, the points I made were in response to her ‘not being sure’ whether she had an MISS operation or not, it was done to clarify any false impression she may have been labouring under, not for mischief sake! In addition, she herself invited the possibility and gave consent to members to research her Surgeon, by putting his name on her post.

I took the words and 'factual information' from a host of US web sites, 3 of which, I posted links for, in order for everyone to check for themselves and not just to take my word for it. I always try to offer links or other proof of my beliefs when offering an opinion, check my posts, you will see this is so!


I am repeating myself again, but yes, I agree with you Budskinson, and as I have repeatedly stated, there are some very good leading Surgeons who are working in their patients best interests! But not all, as you would have the world believe, or why else would you tell members to have MRI’s and to think for themselves? Your points are confused and convoluted Budskinson!!

Paranoia, sociopathic, no Sir, you are definitely not a mental health professional! Read more of my posts, before judging! Lest ye be judged!!


P.S. 2 words again Budskinson, 'spell check'.

SPINELF

 

[Chewy B]

I've seen you have had trouble with moderators before and that you have posted over 300 posts on this site.

Why not stop dominating what should be a straight forward site and keep the message simple.

I've seen you make your spell check comment to others and it makes you look petty, arrogant and insensitive. Perhaps you should start pouring hundreds of posts into a dyslexia forum too.

Take a months break from your perceived ownership of this forum. You have no expertise in this field and you should restrict your comments to your personal experience instead of attempting to be an authority (which you most clearly are not) and self-appointed guardian of this site.

I wish you well in any case with your illness but know you won't be able to resist another response to this post and continue to muddy the waters in terms of the straight forward information that could be gleaned from this site.

How self obsessed.

 

[secrethq1]

In case the link does not work.
Google Daily Mail then search their site back pain. Dr Malik at Kings college
Operation that banishes back pain in a hour - and doesn't leave a scratch | Mail Online

 

[xruqtdeu]

You are ‘so right’ Budskinson,
I just can’t resist a good response, I’m mad for it!!
-------------------------------------

We still see no facts Budskinson! Nothing at all! No medical information that could help my fellow sufferers and I find knowledge that would allow us to arrive at a ‘fully informed decision’ regarding, what is for us, one of the biggest and scariest decisions of our lives!

Your lack of positive contribution to the thread, leads me to call in to question, your real motives. Given your ‘self professed’ closeness to the medical profession and your attack on the 'right' of MISS supporters on this forum and on my right in particular, to have our say, I believe your actions reek of a hidden agenda, and water muddying activity!!

I note your ‘slight’ about my ‘trouble’ with the Moderators, but your point has backfired again, because of your poor research! If you ‘open your mind’ for just one moment, you will realize that,
1) I’m still here! And
2) Previous Moderator decisions were reversed!!
These reversals came about after I was able to allay the ‘very reasonable Moderator’s fears and concerns, and was able to reassure them of my honest and honorable intentions, by discussion!! The same type of ‘fact based’ discussions that you want me to stop!!

The reason this thread has been going for so long and scores so highly (4 stars), is because of all the great, varied, factual and deeply personal posts offered by members from all backgrounds on this open and unrestricted forum! So scoff if you want to Budskinson, but we are all proud of our contributions, and we will continue to support fellow sufferers in our own ways, in spite of individuals like you, who appear to wish to suppress these open discussions and choices!

I strongly refute your inference, that I wish to ‘dominate and control’ back pain discussions on this site! (To paraphrase, me thinks the lady doth protesteth too much!). Once again, you failed to back up your statement with any evidence to support you ‘scurrilous slur’ on my character! In reality,
I am in regular discussions with other HP Members via PM’s as well as this forum page, most of whom, I previously had ‘very strong debates’ with, and ‘yet’ who are now ‘helping me’ with research and information, that I hope will help me decide my surgical fate. Such is the trust that I have in them!

It is thanks to them, that I am still learning about procedures and Surgeons. That Budskinson, is the benefit of an open, informative and fairly censored forum!

Ergo, ‘It is not for you to dictate’ what this forum is for, or who is allowed to use it!!

With regards to your belief that I have no expertise in these matters and should restrict my comments to personal experience rather that trying to advise other member’s treatments that may help them. I could offer you a ‘chapter and verse’ history lesson about my shocking experiences and outrageous discoveries over the last 24 years or so, but I do not believe you would understand or care! So I won’t!!

I believe your true intention, all along, was to get my fellow ‘MISS supporters’ and me, to shut up, to stop rocking the boat and to tow the line, making it easy for bad Surgeons to prosper! Sorry Budskinson, no can do!! Poor Surgeons will give us better outcomes in the future, whether they like it or not! I would suggest, that will be thanks to market forces at work!

As far as ‘you’ describing ‘chronic back pain’ as being ‘straight forward’ and ‘simple’, this comment, above all others, shows how little you read members posts, how little you understand and how little ‘you have to offer’ fellow back pain sufferers on this forum!

So Budskinson. if have no more helpful, positive, factual or relevant comments to offer us, than your vitriolic character assassinations, you may want to reconsider bothering posting again yourself?

In the mean time, we will ‘go on’ doing what we do best, to offer factual information, just like Stephen Jeffery’s post below!! and,
http://www.aiimsnets.org/specialities/RecentAdvances/Minimally%20Invasive%20and%20Endoscopic%20Spine%20Surgery/Minimally%20Invasive%20and%20Endoscopic%20Spine%20Surgery.pdf
This link clearly sets out the benefits of MISS over 'open back' procedures
with clear words and pictorial images. See page 10 for graphic comparison of these 2 differing procedures!

P.S. If you had read my ‘spell check’ comments before, why did you not heed my words? I think your clients would appreciate it if you do in future, don’t you?

Doh! There I go again, being arrogant!! I’m so naughty!!!!


By for now

SPINELF

 

[Ent for Rent]

Hi

I've had an L5/S1 discectomy last Friday and just wanted to know if what I'm experiencing is the norm.

I'm a 41 year old female who has suffered with Sciatica for around 8 years on and off, but with it being really bad in the past year. I had an MRI which revealed the prolapsed disc pressing on the sciatic nerve. I had 2 spinal root blocks, but a second MRI showed no movement on the disc, so the consultant recommended the discectomy.

I had the operation at 6.30pm last Friday. I was doing ok whilst in hospital (although still in a heck of a lot of pain), so was able to come home Sunday lunchtime.

But I am still in an awful lot of pain. I only have a small (less than 2 inches) incision in my back and this is obviously swollen and sore, But the real pain is in my left leg (the leg I suffered with Sciatica in). I have that awful pins and needles feeling from the knee down and have limited movement in my left foot and toes. The ankle is totally numb. But I also feel like I have constant cramp in my left calf muscle and since waking this morning I have a burning feeling in the ends of my toes and across the top of my foot.

Is this just the nerve sorting itself out? The consultant did say that it could be numb for a bit as he had to move the nerve out the way to get to the disc. I am a single mother of 3 children, the youngest being 2, and I'm finding it really hard to cope so would love it if someone could give me light at the end of the tunnel of agony!!

 

[Ciara izobelle Lecciones]

Famanda,

I am 3 weeks post op from my discectomy at L5S1 and i too am still having sciatic nerve symptoms, these are starting too subside now and my surgeon says to expect to wait a while for the nerve to settle down. He did say though that numbness that doesn't start to clear up he would like to know about.

All the best.

Spinelf.

On reflection I don't think this site now needs anyone to signpost you as a problem poster, your last 2 posts were raving and paranoid and frankly look desperately odd amongst all the other normal posts!

 

[Nobody.]

Yes famanda, Please don't worry, this level of pain is quite normal 'this soon' after a procedure like yours. Don't forget, this is a 'serious operation' which could have a
destablising effect on the immediate area around the base of the spine, for weeks
'if not' months, so take your time and go gently.

I realize that you are a single Mother, but you really do need to take things easy, by that I mean, mainly, don't stand for long periods, bend or lift heavy items. I know that's easier to say than do right? But try to get help from family, if they are not available, try health agencies, just make sure you are supported!

I believe that you will need a lot of help for you to 'fully recover' from this procedure
femanda, but for a specific Woman's/Mother's perspective, perhaps one of the forum's Lady Members can help, better than some old fat man! (THAT WILL BE ME)

Best wishes, and know you have found us, don't be a stranger!

SPINELF

 

[Joyce B]

Thanks for your response Budskinson. It's nice to know someone is a little further along after having the same procedure I have had.

I've had a lot of help from my parents, but they are going on holiday on Thursday and I was just panicking about getting the children to school and stuff, but I have great neighbours who have now offered after seeing a very needy Facebook status from me!

Being a very independent stubborn woman, I find it extremely hard to ask for help, but beginning to realise that friends are there for me.

 

[C.J I]

Spinelf.

On reflection I don't think this site now needs anyone to signpost you as a problem poster, your last 2 posts were raving and paranoid and frankly look desperately odd amongst all the other normal posts! [/quote]



Still weak on facts Budskinson!
Still no facts!!! Still no proof!! Still no medical papers!!! Still no trial results!!!!!!


Raving and Paranoid am I?
Don't you remember Budskinson, you have already declared yourself, to all HP members, that you are 'no expert ' on mental health matters, Remember? Or are you still confused and convoluted?

Anyway, just keep repeating your worst bile, if you wish! I can't be bothered with you anymore, you are boring and frustrating me to distraction!

Remember Budskinson, I stand by and can prove my words, if you or anyone else wish to 'factually' correct me with 'tracable' evidence, please be my guest. As I say, I am still learning!!

 

[aseret_me]

Dear Famanda33.

I 'sincerely appologise' for Budskinson's rudness, in including an ongoing 'contentious' thread (between him and I) in a response to your 1st request for specific information, regarding your recovery.

You must think that we on HP, are very rude and uncaring at this, your most difficut of times.

I can assure you, that this is 'not' our normal standard of behaviour on HP, and I am sure, that many of my fellow forum members, will be as 'mortified' by this act as I am!

I respectfully ask, that you give us another chance, it will be worth sticking with us, I promise!

Best wishes and kind thoughts

SPINELF

 

[dot]

*** moderators hat on ***

Simply put, either discuss the topic of the thread, or don't post. If there are any more off-topic remarks made about other members 'motives' or style of posting, then it's easy enough for us to simply remove this whole thread from the public forum, and that would be a shame for all those who have found useful advise here.

If we don't remove the whole thread then at least any more such remarks will be deleted without question and the members involved will be put on moderation.

*** moderators hat off ***

 

[RayMyrioae]

Famanda,

I think if i were to draw any positives out of having the worst 6 months of my life (from sciatica) it is that friends, family and neighbours have been so helpful- lifts, housework, cooking and shopping etc...My wife is now heavily pregnant and its just been amazing to see how many people we have ready to support us.

Pleased your having a similar experience.

As far as my recovery goes today i managed a 2 mile walk but have had some pretty strange (not necessarily painful) nerve sensations. I keep reminding myself how painful things were pre-operation compared to post-operation - this usually lifts the spirits quite a bit.